


You're Still Human

by knightinpinkunderwear



Series: Prompt Fills [12]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: (is that the term?), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Angst, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Crying, Ed doesn't know that, Ed is a combo of machine and human, Ed is a cyborg, Gen, Oswald Is Dead, Poor Ed, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Regret, Sad Ending, could be ship if you squint a lot, he could be alive, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 03:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13561611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightinpinkunderwear/pseuds/knightinpinkunderwear
Summary: “Did you forget to turn on your heart this morning?” prompt sent by verovexEd is cyborg/human+machine hybrid because I had an idea. Angsty.





	You're Still Human

**Author's Note:**

  * For [verovex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/verovex/gifts).



 

“Did you forget to turn on your heart this morning?” the apparition asked, it was a useless question, the apparition was a glitch in his system, it knew everything that he did. Ever since the demise of the Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot, the apparitions had been criticizing his decision. The heart they were referring to was in actuality a chip, it had his all his emotional programming in it. If it was ‘on’ he was practically human, only with a much better memory and capability for learning. Without it, he was focussed, diligent, and far superior in every function. All his life he had turned it ‘on’ every morning as he woke up for the day. As Edward Nashton, then as Edward Nygma. He was a strange ‘being’ a defective experiment. The superior human model, something that blurred the line between human and machine. His brain was that of a human, only with additional wiring and circuit boards. He had what anyone would think was a real a human body and a human heart. His muscular system was trained for fine work, accurate to a fault but not especially strong. He was functionally a human with a computerized brain, but that was the easy and not entirely accurate way to say it. After shooting the Penguin and dumping him into Gotham River, Edward stopped that habit. He left his heart off and found that he was much more efficient in everything he did. So he kept it off. 

“I don’t need it.” He didn’t. His heart would only cause him distress which would inebriate brain function. It would cause distraction and by result loss of efficiency. 

“Oh, so you want to be a machine?” 

“My ‘heart’ only served to weaken and distract me, I don’t. need. it.”

“You can’t hide from your feelings forever,” the eyes of the apparition were a close imitation of their original’s, but still an imitation. Ed’s chest felt more hollow than he’d become accustomed to after Oswald’s death. 

“I am not hiding.” He wasn’t. He wasn’t  _ hiding _ . He was just- he was just being logical.

“Humans don’t deal with their issues logically,” Ed knew that, but they were-he was “As much as you try to forget, you’re still human! Ed!” His fingers were reaching to his heart, hovering just a breath away. If he turned it on he knew what would happen. He’d feel. He’d- He put his hand down. He couldn’t. The apparition laughed in a cruel mockery of the person he was supposed to be.

“What?!”

“You’re afraid!” Ed didn’t know if the apparition was mocking him or if it was concerned. 

“I am not!”

“Even without your heart you’re still human,” the voice was softer than a whisper, but it hurt. He screwed his eyes shut. Why did it hurt? His heart was off, why did it still-? “Ed, you’re hurting yourself by doing this, please don’t hurt yourself anymore.” He could feel the phantom caress of hands on his face. He pulled away from the sensation. “Ed, please don’t do this to yourself, it won’t make anything better.” With a shaking hand, he reached up and turned his heart on. He choked, overwhelmed by it all. It was too much. It hurt.  _ He hurt.  _ When he looked up at the apparition it was gone. Oswald was gone.  _ Gone.  _

“No!” he sobbed, wide eyes searching desperately for Oswald. They had no luck. “Come back!” The words did nothing to summon the image of his friend. “Please! Don’t leave me alone!” Ed removed his glasses, letting them drop as he sobbed into his hands. The regret, the betrayal, the  _ hurt.  _ It was all too much. Surely this kind of pain would mean he was dying?  _ Why had he done it? Why had he killed him? Why?  _ Ed didn’t know anymore. All he knew was that he wished he hadn’t. Ed Nygma, the human machine, the genius, the freaky mix of technology and biology sobbed far longer than his tears or voice lasted.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! (I'm a little sorry, not that much but then again it isn't that bad...right?)
> 
> Please comment, I love feedback and I swear I won't bite!


End file.
